INCAN OR LED

springfieldfortyfive

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hi, I currently own a Surefire G2, but am trying to decide between the E2E or E2L. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
 

tibim

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You might hate the beam on the E2L compared to your G2. It's very narrow and "throwy", kind of impractical for most use. You can get an f04 beamshaper to help spread it out a bit, though. Otherwise if you get the E2E it is pretty much gonna be the same as your g2 as far as output... so you will have two lights that are almost the same.

I'm not impressed with the KL1 LED head(comes with E2L) honestly, I would recommend a Fenix L1t or L2t(depending on what size you want). Much nicer beam and cheaper to boot. Or if you want to stick with surefire I would recommend an L4 which has a much wider beam, although some say it's almost too "floody". Price is higher than the E2l, though.
 

deranged_coder

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springfieldfortyfive said:
hi, I currently own a Surefire G2, but am trying to decide between the E2E or E2L. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi there, welcome to CPF. :)

Big question will be, what do you need the light for? If you can provide that bit of necessary info, the denizens of this forum can better give you advice.
 

wmirag

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Get the BugOutGeer 3Watt LED for your G2. It is almost as bright as the stock P60 and it runs for 4 hours at a fair constant output. I have seen two BOG units in person and both were very white and had a beautiful beam. I never reloaded my P60 after using the BOG-LED.

W.
 

PlayboyJoeShmoe

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I rarely "use" an Incandescent light anymore. I use the heck out of LED lights though! WAY more runtime and USUALLY NimH batteries so I can have free lumens!

Once out in Quality Dark woods, I could see everything with a Sreamlight PP4AA LUX that I could with a G2P60. If left constantly on, the G2 will be dark in an hour. The Streamlight will go 4 hours.

'Nuff said?
 

carrot

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What for and where do you currently use the G2? Depending on your application, upgrading to the E2L might be a great choice for you. Otherwise, an E2e may be the better choice.
 

:)>

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Man, I can't believe that I am saying this because I am a complete LED fan, but between the 2 you mentioned, I would pick the E2e.

I think it is one of the best of all time lights.

-Goatee
 

lightemup

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Hmm i'd trawl b/s/t for a E2e and a KL1, a E2L and post a WTB for an E2e bezel and bulb, or something along similar lines...

If not, i'd look around and get a good price on a L4, I sold my E2e because even though it had a bit more throw than the L4 the L4 really lights up a room and is still very useful outside! The L4 is the balance between the two you seek, and it has all the benefits of being a led (no bulbs to burn out, pretty much shock proof etc)

The only reason I can think of for using a KL1 (e.g. E2L and E1L) is to get a long runtime out of the batteries, and a bit more narrow throw. Could be wrong though!

If I had to get rid of all of my lights (including my E2D) and only keep one it would probably be my L4. Easily pocketable, bright..........
 

carrot

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I don't know about that. I like my L2 and all, but for most of my uses, I find the E1L (1-cell E2L) to be the most useful for me. Bright, with excellent throw, slips easily into a pocket, great runtime, and rechargeable. The E2e is not rechargeable (though with some effort you could, but you couldn't then use primary cells).

If you're not yet ready to make the jump to rechargeables, but like the E2L, I recommend the L1 instead. A little more money but the dual stage makes it much more versatile. In fact, even when I use rechargeables I sometimes wish I had the L1 because the E1L (like most single-stage Surefires) is too bright for reading when I'm out in the field.

---

Where the KL1 (the bezel on the E1L and E2L, and similar to the one on the L1) excels is when you're walking around somewhere with dark crevices but some area lighting. Any light can light up a dark field, but the KL1 does a great job giving you light exactly where you need it in a lit area (but not lit well enough) and not wasting it on area flood. Because of this, the KL1 has great throw and excellent runtime. It's also incredibly cool-looking in fog or smoke.

In a completely dark area, I greatly prefer lights that are floody, such as the L4 or the very similar L2. Being able to see not only where I'm walking, but also the area around it gives you an added sense of security and also gives you the ability to better scan for things that might lie in wait to ambush you, such as a dead tree stump or a raccoon. But in a lit area you might find the L4 or L2 to be severely lacking in "power," or rather, throw.

More generalized lights such as the G2 and E2e, or my personal favorite, the A2 Aviator, provide a happy medium, but at the expense of runtime due to the inherent inefficient nature of incandescents (quite a mouthful, huh?). Other manufacturers, such as Fenix, strive to make LED lights that are great for all-around usage, but that's a completely different story.

I also personally, as well as quite a few other CPFers, feel that incandescent provides better color rendition outdoors and cuts through fog better than LED, despite the inherent disadvantages to a filament-based light source.

Cheaper alternatives to the KL1/E1L/E2L would be the Underwater Kinetics 4AA eLED Fire, and the Inova T series.

Alternatives to the KL4/L4/L2 would be pretty much any light advertised to use a Luxeon V.
 
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lightemup

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Hmm agreed that in a lit area the L4 can lack in power, but all of my led lights suffer from this issue. Also, for my purposes if its a partially lit area I can also see...

Now that I think about it I agree with you about the L1 also being a good alternative. In my opinion for what uses I have for lights, I would still have my L4 before the others.

I'm obviously under estimating the new KL1's throw, i'll have to try and check one out to see what you mean. I've seen an older KL1, and to my eye it didn't hold a candle to a L1, or L4 in throw.

I do have an x200a, that does have pretty impressive throw, but I can still detect / id objects with the L4 at similar distances: its just that they're not as bright.
 

carrot

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If it's partially lit I may be able to see, but not see well enough to avoid a hole in the ground. Or, I may not be able to see into a dark corner that the area lighting does not cover. Area lighting around here is usually in the form of sodium yellow streetlamps, which seem to both destroy/prevent night-adapted vision and do a poor job of highlighting details and contrasts. Many an obstacle or pitfall (maybe an exaggeration) have been avoided by using my E1L for supplemental lighting, though I admit any decently powerful flashlight could be used for such a task. I also use it to illuminate things at distance, which is why I find it most useful.

Perhaps the x200a does not throw much better than the L4. I've never used one. But I do know that the x200a lasts longer on batteries because it has a more focused beam and, because of that, can put out less light to be equally useful when throw is needed. If throw is what you need, then a tight-beamed light would be the optimal choice.

In my own experiences, the KL1/E1L throws almost as well as the Surefire A2, which is known to throw better than the E2e but less than the G2/6P.
 

Telkin

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The X200a has huge throw, it's like a brighter version of the E2L and the beam profile characteristics is the same. I've always hoped the one day the KL1 would have just as much power as the X200a.
 

Mikeg23

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I would much rather have an incandescent than an LED, but I do have several LEDs. I don't personnally see what advantage the E2L has over the E1L.
 

Telkin

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Mikeg23 said:
I would much rather have an incandescent than an LED, but I do have several LEDs. I don't personnally see what advantage the E2L has over the E1L.

Only Run time and some people might consider the E1L to be too small. That's the only difference.

I like LED's because they are usually regulated and stay at one brightness level until the battery can't take it anymore where as incans get dimmer as the battery gets used. Mind you I use both types of lights as well for different purposes.
 

joema

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springfieldfortyfive said:
hi, I currently own a Surefire G2, but am trying to decide between the E2E or E2L. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
The E2E is marvelously small, but in many ways it's a shrunken metal body G2. The E2L is at least different -- LED vs incandescent.

Personally if you want a Surefire that's both different and useful, get the A2. Yes it's somewhat more money than the E2L but it's roughly the same size and combines both LED and regulated incandescent beams in one package. The LED beam is broad and useful for many closer-range tasks. By contrast the G2/E2E are just too bright for certain tasks, esp. close range.
 

Harry

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A few weeks ago I bought a E2E with a KL1 head and a F04 Beamshaper. While I found the incan bulb to be bright, I find that the KL1 gives me more versatility because I can use it as both an area(flood) light as well as a distance(spot) light.

I prefer that a 123 powered light be regulated, as the KL1 is, as well as have decent run time. For use in a rural area I have found this set up to be an ideal arrangement. This seems to be the best combination of size and capability for meeting my specific requirements.

Harry
 

MacTech

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I've been using my A2 Aviator (white LEDs) quite extensively in the past month or so, i can't reccomend this light highly enough, yes it's expensive, the most expensive light in my arsenal, but i've found that it's well worth the money....

tonight, we finalized moving our store from Dover NH to Portsmouth NH, i was back at the old Dover store helping the boss take down the sign hanging outside the store...
here's an old pic from the '06 Mothers Day Flood in Dover NH (notice how full the Cocheco River is in the background)
Image-DE61C9B5E44911DA.jpg

it was 8:45 PM and quite dark out, it was also lightly raining and a mist was in the air, as you can see in the linked pic, the hardware hanging the sign is black, so taking the sign down (unscrewing the C-Bolts holding it up, also black) at night is a bit of a challenge

i stood on the loading dock and shone my A2 on high at the c-clamps, it lit them up very well, making unscrewing them easy, the A2's Incan beam lit up the black wrought-iron frame and black painted steel clamp bolts easily

on the second one, i switched to my G2 with 3W G&P LED lamp ***'y, the white part of the sign was lit up well, but what LED light that wasn't scattered by the rain and mist in the air was simply soaked up by the black iron framing, so i went back to the A2, the A2 easily lit up the iron framing, making taking the sign down a breeze

before we left, the boss was searching for some keys in one of his small, crowded, disorganized duffel bags on the loading dock, the A2's LEDs put out just the *perfect* amount of light for him to quickly find the keys, the incan or even the 3 watt G&P would have been overkill, the soft, wide flood of the A2 LEDs were perfect for this task

every day i find more and more uses for the A2, it really and truly is a great, if underappreciated, light, the LED's are perfect for 90% of my use, and whenever i need a powerful incan beam to stab into the night, it's a half-press of the tailcap away, and thanks to the A2's regulated output, the bright white incan beam will not yellow as it ages

if you can afford it, why not get the A2, it solves your problem completely, you can have LED *AND* incan in one light
 

Mikeg23

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Telkin said:
Only Run time and some people might consider the E1L to be too small. That's the only difference.

I didn't think about it being too small. I suppose if one wanted to use the KL1 on a primary light then the E2L might be a better decision.
 
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